2008 Lifestyles of a Formerly Rich and Famous Presidential Campaign
posted by on February 22 at 13:55 PM
The New York Times piece on the spending habits of the Clinton campaign starts with this:
Nearly $100,000 went for party platters and groceries before the Iowa caucuses, even though the partying mood evaporated quickly. Rooms at the Bellagio luxury hotel in Las Vegas consumed more than $25,000; the Four Seasons, another $5,000. And top consultants collected about $5 million in January, a month of crucial expenses and tough fund-raising.
And then, if even possible, gets a thousand times worse. Just to bullet point some of the more memorable ‘you have to be joking’ expenditures:
• Hillary chief strategist Mark Penn’s firm has collected over $10 million from her campaign since she declared for the presidency, $3.8 million in January alone.
• Howard Wolfson, the Clinton campaign’s press secretary, has pulled in $730,000 from the campaign.
• $800,000 was paid to a group called Sunrise Communications, whose job it was to turn out black voters for Clinton in South Carolina.
• Over $95,000 was spent on sandwich platters in Iowa in an attempt to sway people attending the caucus.
By comparison, the article states that Obama has spent 2.8 million for media consultancy and polling throughout the entire campaign, or one million less than Hillary spent in January alone.
While the late quote in the article from former-Dean-campaign-manager-turned-former- Edwards-campaign-manager Joe Trippi might seem slightly less than objective, it probably nails it perfectly:
“The problem is she ran a campaign like they were staying at the Ritz-Carlton,” Mr. Trippi said. “Everything was the best. The most expensive draping at events. The biggest charter. It was like, ‘We’re going to show you how presidential we are by making our events look presidential.’ ”
And earned, oh, every ten millionth or so penny of it.
Seriously, being a Democratic campaign strategist seems like being a Bush administration appointee: the more you fuck up, the higher you climb.
Sandwich platters?
Um, guys, just bake cookies and cupcakes. It makes it way more fun, you can decorate them, and people feel way more connected both by baking them, and getting homemade stuff.
Good thing she hasn't talked about the environment much with all that conspicuous consumption.
who didnt expect shit like this?
It's certainly not surprising...
But damn, if she mis-manages your campaign finances this poorly imagine the kind of damage she could do with the entire federal budget at her disposal?
She should demand a refund.
I've been saying for a while that the campaign operation itself should be our first measure of who is ready to be president. Obama's organizational efficiency and tactical skill in allocating resources and time in order to win over the right number of delegates tells the story.
i agree with elenchos on this to a degree. the primary campaign is like high school, the general election is like college, and the job is the job.
HRC's obviously trying to give us a practical, real-world example of how she would govern if elected.
Shrimp cocktails for all, hurrah!!!
I think this is the sort of think that hurts her in places like Texas. Not so much being a woman, or a Clinton, or a democrat, but in people's minds (I was just in farm country for a week, mind you), she's just infuriatingly, smugly upper-class. I'm not sure her excesses or so unique to this realm, but perception is everything.
I think it puts the lie to the claim that she's a better manager. If Obama has put together a campaign this brilliant and thinks he's a bad manager, imagine how well he'll run a White House after he improves with management experience.
Also, figures spent on GOTV are absent. Who spent more on that?
I love shrimp cocktails, or battered thai shrimp. And lobster. Yum.
now i have that incredibly awful good charlotte song stuck in my head
As Imelda Marcos said in defending her huge shoe collection: "My people don't want me dressed in rags." Maybe if Hillary had just stayed in Motel 6 and eaten at the Golden Arches, all would be well. Maybe not.
Hillary would rather lose than dump Mark Penn. At least it keeps Penn's losing streak going.
Gitai @11 is right on. If you can't budget for a campaign, it doesn't bode well for managing the country. Of course, W did fine campaigning in 2000 and 2004 (beside constant lying, of course), and has made both our budget and Iraq covered in red.
Comments Closed
In order to combat spam, we are no longer accepting comments on this post (or any post more than 14 days old).